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Hotel, Restaurant And More Coming To Progress Point

Last updated on Saturday, June 22, 2013

(WESTGATE) - Development plan will bring hotel, restaurant and service station to area near WestGate.

Nick Schneider of the Greene County Daily World reports that the Greene County Redevelopment Commission reviewed updates to the Progress Pointe development plan that will bring a hotel, restaurant and service station to an area close to Interstate 69 and the U.S. 231 junction.

The development near the WestGate at Crane Technology Park will provide roads, water, sanitary sewers, storm sewers, storm water quality ponds, lights, and grade the western portion of the property that is adjacent to the Battery Innovation Center to make it ready for the location of a hotel and other commercial businesses, according to project manager Rick Coppock of Bynam & Fanyo Engineering.

Coppock said a schematic drawing for the site plan has been revised and submitted to a prospective developer for review.

He said the roadway design is complete; the sanitary sewer design is being prepared to be submitted to the Indiana Department of Environmental Management for a construction permit; and the erosion control plan is also being prepared to be forwarded to the Greene County Soil and Water Conservation District for a permit.

In addition, plat and covenants have been revised and are now being reviewed by the Greene County Commissioners and the Plan Commission.

Bids on the site plan are expected to be taken at the commission's August meeting. Coppock expects the site work to be completed by April 2014.

Commission members Ken Gremore and John Mensch met with the prospective developer and learned that current traffic counts on I-69 are on the low side to attract a national chain restaurant, like Applebee's.

However, Gremore pointed out that when the "Bloomington-Martinsville leg" of the interstate opens (in 2015), traffic volume numbers would undoubtedly increase.

Gremore and Mensch were authorized to continue discussion with the developer on what kinds of businesses will locate on the site.

Coppock also updated commission members on the progress of the Progress Pointe Lift Station project, which is also nearing completion.

He said the contractor, Snedegar Construction Company, of Bloomington, will test the pumps and the lift station within the next week.

Coppock also provided members with a written update on the Scotland Sewer Project, which is complete, the Allen Farm Lift station that is substantially complete as well as the Utilities District of Western Indiana REMC water line extension project, which is tabbed as substantially complete on June 17.

Hoping to have the best visibility for logos placed on the new water tower in the Greene County section of the WestGate at Crane Technology Park, the Redevelopment Commission discussed the matter in detail.

The question is where to place large logos on the water tank, which will read WestGate Tech Park.

Commission member Bryan Sparks suggested putting them on the northwest and southeast sides of the tank located off of County Road 800S to maximize visibility for motorists using Interstate 69 and U.S. 231.

Commission Attorney Marilyn Hartman suggested having someone actually climb the water tower and see from that vantage point where the best location will be.

In the end, the commission voted to have president Hal Harp and Coppock visit the area and make a decision on the best visual location for the two logos.

It was decided that an Eastern Heights Utilities Company logo would be placed on the south side of the new water storage tank.

Coppock reported that work is progressing on the tank, with painting slated to be completed by July 4. Electrical work will be done by the end of July.

The commission also passed a resolution that transfers all of the roads now in the Greene County sector of the WestGate at Crane Technology Park to the Redevelopment Commission to meet bonding requirements.

The Greene County Council approved a resolution last month that makes the county a tax-backed guarantor of an upcoming $8 million bond issue for the county Redevelopment Commission.

The approved resolution creates the vehicle to implement a Special Benefits Tax (SBT) only in the event of a future extreme financial emergency. However, there are no plans to actually levy the tax.

The resolution essentially makes the county a co-signer to the bond issue and will help attain a much more favorable interest rate on the bonds when they are sold, according to Richard Starkey, of the Indianapolis law firm of Barnes and Thornburg, which is serving as bond counsel to the county.

Hartman said she expects the bond sale to close July 23.

In another matter, the commission has decided it will charge the county $24,000 a year ($2,000 a month) to lease about 1,500 square feet of ambulance service space in the new Taylor Township Fire Station in the WestGate Tech Park.

The fire department will pay $46,000 a year to lease its space from the Redevelopment Commission, which owns the 7,700 square feet building that is nearing completion.

The lease agreement with the county will be considered at the June 24 meeting of the Greene County Council.

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